Chapter 13
Markus held his mate close to his heart for hours. Sleep evaded him—he couldn’t sleep, because he and his dragon were thrilled to have found their mate and to have bonded successfully with her. He could have lost her during the attack. Valorie was such a miracle, he never wanted to let her go. A knock on the door was an abrupt interruption to his bliss.
He carefully pulled his still-hard cock from his mate’s body and covered her with the blanket so that she wouldn’t get cold. He pulled on his jeans and t-shirt before walking over to open the door. He stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind him so that he would not disrupt Valorie’s sleep.
Sonar and Roan were there waiting for him. Sonar had gone to retrieve Roan from his patrol and bring him to where King Reichardt resided.
Sonar looked at him strangely. “It’s done?”
“Yes, we are bonded. I can feel her soul.”
“Come, King Reichardt wants to talk to you about the girl. I already told him about our journey here and he plans to contact General Ranier when the other kings arrive.”
Markus stopped walking and looked at his friend in concern. “Not King Dyson?”
“No, King Dyson is not allowed in this territory.”
“Good.” They continued to walk down a hallway in the wood and stone structure. It was long and big, but nothing like the castles of his homeworld. They entered a room with books lining the walls. A desk was placed in the middle of the room, and King Reichardt sat behind it. Five males Markus had not seen in years stood on either side of the desk to guard the king.
“Sit, Warriors Markus, Sonar, and Roan.”
“It’s actually Captain Markus, my king.”
Reichardt smiled at him. “Captain, you certainly have made your way up the ranks.”
Markus glanced out the window, watching as more of his people handled the strange livestock. “What is this place?”
“It’s a ranch. The property expands a few thousand acres and our people have homes throughout. We raise livestock.”
“Is it profitable?”
“We have no need of money. For hundreds of years, we hoarded treasures we claimed and learned to invest it. Our people stayed within our clan territory until recently. The last hundred years have been hard; no children have been bred. That’s why I want to find out all I can about you and the human. How long have you known her?”
“Almost two days.”
Reichardt stared at him in surprise. “Why do you think she’s your mate?”
“I don’t think…I know that she is. I have known since the moment I first laid eyes on her. My dragon wanted to whisk her away to the skies.”
The other warriors standing looked at him, doubting his words. Elite Warrior Task spoke up for the rest. “That’s impossible. Our dragons have not found any females appealing in a hundred years.”
“Have you mated with humans?”
Reichardt answered him. “We used to keep our distance from the humans because they were different from us, weaker, and the council of the kings felt that the mixing of the blood would weaken our line.”
Markus growled with anger at how they spoke down on his Valorie, or at least her species. “There is nothing wrong with my Valorie.”
Reichardt sighed. “You have to understand, Markus. When we came here to this planet, the people were so far behind in technology and culture. They thought their world was flat instead of round, and that if they got to the edge of the flat plane they would just…fall off. The humans were fearful of anything that was different from them and struck out of fear. We had to keep our distance to protect our people. Then, over the years, it became a habit. Recently, as we’ve had to learn to invest, we’ve interacted a little more with humans but none have felt a mate pull that I know of.”
“Until now,” Markus added pointedly.
“You’re fully bonded?” Reichardt asked curiously.
“Yes, I can feel her soul as it melded with mine and my dragon’s. I know how she feels and would be able to find her anywhere.”
“The other kings will be arriving tomorrow. Would you be willing to tell all this before the council?”
Markus couldn’t refuse his king’s request. If it helped to keep his mate safe, then he was all for it. “I will speak with them, but I won’t have her subjugated to their questions. I don’t want her to be frightened.”
“I can understand that.”
“My king, I wanted to ask about my mother and sister. Are they not on this ranch?”
“They went to another clan to see if your sister would be able to find a mate. I have notified them of your arrival, and they too will come back tomorrow. Now, I want to ask you about the battle cruiser. Will it be able to return us to Drakonia?”
Markus shook his head. “When we fled, Drakonia was a dead planet, unable to sustain life.”
“You’ve been gone ten years, could things have improved?”
“Even if we could find our way back, I doubt it.”
“How did you find Earth?”
Markus pulled the chain that had the medallion on it. “Mage Craggen gave this to me as he directed us to head for the last battle cruiser leaving Drakonia. He told me that there were coordinates for each of the two planets on the sides. He warned us of the time lapse. We followed the coordinates to Earth.”
“You came here first?”
“Yes.”
“So the other planet could have more of our people.”
“It’s a possibility, or they could have died despite all efforts.”
One of the warriors addressed the king. “Sir, we could still take our people off this planet on the Zyon.”
“For what? We have a home here and know who our enemies are. Our people are already dying out slowly from the lack of a bond. It could make things worse if we leave. One thing is for sure, the battle cruiser won’t be able to remain in Earth’s orbit. Humans have evolved and their technology will eventually find our ship.”
An argument erupted and King Reichardt slammed his fist on his desk. “Enough! These discussions will be handled once the other kings arrive. Markus, you are free to explore the ranch with your mate.”
Markus stood up. “Where is your cooking area? My mate is going to be hungry when she wakes.”
“Feser, show Markus, Roan, and Sonar to the kitchen and help them prepare the human food.”
“Yes, sir.”
Markus started to bow on his way out but Reichardt stopped him. “None of that formal stuff. I haven’t had someone bow to me in hundreds of years. Also, I prefer to be called Reichardt or Rei for short.”
“I will try to remember that, my king.” Markus followed the other warriors out of the room. He couldn’t wait to get back to his mate. After hearing how rare a bond was, he did not want to take his eyes off of her.